Notes on Environmental Sensitivities -

prepared October 2007 by L. Farrar for the

Physical Accessibility and Site Plan Review Working Group

www.aeha.ca

Allergy and Environmental Health Association - Ottawa Branch

A Definition of Environmental Sensitivities

Environmental Sensitivities can occur when people become sensitive to
substances or phenomena in their everyday environment at levels well below
what “ n o ~ ~ tpeople
~ a l ~would
~ consider acceptable. Sensitivity reactions can be
triggered by scented products, cleaning products, laundry detergents, paints,
petrochemicals, cigarette smoke, pesticides, pets, plants, hels,
electromagnetic radiation, molds, foods, etc.
The effect of environmental sensitivities can be overwhelming. Productive
people may suddenly or gradually become unable to tolerate offices, homes,
schools, hospitals and public places. Despite skills and education, some people
with sensitivities end up on social assistance. Many become socially isolated
as they are forced to retreat fiom places and activities they love, and for some,
the devastation extends to losing spouses, family and friends who may not
believe they are ill.
This disability may be invisible, but it is real. Environmental Sensitivities
have been recognized as disabilities by the Canadian Human Rights
Commission and many provincial human rights commissions.

This website includes links to many related sites.

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www .nsnet.ordidacadenviro .html

Environmental Sensitivities
Definition:
Environmental Sensitivities, also known as Environmental Illness or Environmental
Disease is a name that says it all. A person who is ill because of his environment
(food, drink, air) has Environmental Sensitivities. Some people consider Multiple
Chemical Sensitivities as another name for the same illness, but it is actually a
subset of Environmental Illness. The body cannot deal with all the toxins it comes
into contact with every day. Immune System Dysfunction happens. Auto-immune
Disease is the body mistaking a part of itself as the enemy and attacking it.
The things that trigger reactions can be chemicals, natural and manmade, at very low
concentrations. A lot of these manmade chemicals were developed after World War
I1 (including pesticides, cleaning products, etc.) and are petroleum based (petro-
chemicals). Some of the natural substances that cause problems are grass, pollen,
animal hair, or mould.
Because scents are such a serious problem let's look at them more closely (over 4000
chemicals used in the fragrance industry). We usually do not smell many of the
scents we and others are emitting until we become hypersensitive. These chemicals
could be causing minor problems for years but we do not see the cause/effect.
However, as time passes our bodies become weakened from constant exposure.
Overloaded passageways in our bodies, the back up of chemicals in the blood
stream, muscles, nervous system, organs, etc. leads to a variety of symptoms. Poor
air quality, the length of time the chemical clings to clothes, closed in buildings, etc.
hold these chemicals and our bodies absorb them.
Fact Sheet:
0 1525% of the population have some breathing problem such as hay fever or
asthma that is adversely affected by strong odors from scented products.
0 Strongly scented products can trigger migraines; 17% of Canadians suffer from
migraines.
The incidence of environmental discomforts and illnesses is increasing.
0 Ventilation systems of many buildings are not able to extract all chemicals from
the air and instead.recirculate them.

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 Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia.

www.lesstoxicguide.ca

Guide to Less Toxic Products

Every day, most North Americans use beauty and cleaning products which
contain hazardous ingredients. How can you find the products that are least
toxic, among the thousands of products on store shelves?

The objective of this site is to:

0 Provide information about potential health risks of commonly used products.

0 Help identi-& less toxic alternatives for personal care, household cleaning, baby
care, and household pest control.
0 Provide information to help you evaluate products not in this Guide in order to
choose the safest ones for your needs.

“Chemicals have replaced bacteria and viruses as the main threat to health. The
diseases we are beginning to see as the major causes of death in the latter part of
(the 1900’s)and into the 2 1st century are diseases of chemical origin.”
Dr. Dick Irwin, Toxicologist, Texas A&M Universi2L)

This site contains a printable guide to less toxic products.

http://www .environmentalhealth.ca/summer07humanrights.html

Canadian Human Rights Commission Report

Accommodating the environmentally sensitive
protects everyone
Update Summer 2007
“People’s responses to factors in their environment vary enormously. For instance, we
all h o w that blue-eyed red-heads are sensitive to sunshine, burning more readily than
dark-skinned people. What may be less well known is that some people have
debilitating reactions to other aspects of their environment, such as chemicals or
electromagnetic phenomena.”

So begins The Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities, a report

commissioned by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) research
program. The groundbreaking document, written by Dr. Meg Sears, validates the
existence of chemical sensitivity. It notes that chemical sensitivity is a disability which
deserves and requires public accommodation. The report goes even further and argues,
“There are high costs to society of not caring for people with sensitivities. ....
Accommodation of people with environmental sensitivities is an opportunity to
improve environmental quality and workers’ performance, and to prevent the
development of sensitivities in others...99

Eric Slone, President of the Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia

(EHANS) applauds the report because it takes the rights of people with environmental
illness very seriously. “We live in an age where people with disabilities are
increasingly being granted the legal right to participate more fully in society, rather
than being forced to sit on the sidelines,” Slone noted. “Society has to back up that
invitation to participate with concrete behavioural and attitudinal changes that actually
make it possible.”

Approximately 3% of Canadians have been diagnosed with environmental

sensitivities. According to the report, a major difference between accommodating
people who are chemically and electrically sensitive, and accommodating people with
other types of disabilities, is that “unlike ‘built’ accommodations such as ramps,
accommodating people with sensitivities actively involves many people, such as
employers, co-workers, others in the school or workplace, neighbours, etc. ... Some of
the most important accommodations involve behaviour changes. These include the use
of least-toxic cleaning and pest control practices, and avoidance of scented products.”

Addressing a common misconception that Canadian building standards are sufficient,

the reports notes that building standards deal with issues such as structural strength,
not indoor air quality which affects the health of people working in a building. The
report recommends, “Construction, renovation, repair and maintenance should be
conducted to minimize the introduction of pollutants. Finishing, furnishings and
equipment should contain low toxicity materials, have virtually no emissions, and be
low-maintenance. Problems with structural dampness and moulds may be minimized
with good design and construction. These considerations are increasingly important
given the desire to conserve energy by reducing ventilation.”

Charles Theroux, CHRC director of research says, “The protection [for chemically
sensitive workers] is there. What has been missing is for people to know that the
protection is there, to recognize chemical sensitivity as a disability and offer proper
accommodation.”

The CHRC hopes that The Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities, along
with a soon to be released companion report on legal issues and a CHRC policy
statement, will play a role in preventing problems for chemically sensitive employees
by making it clear that reasonable accommodation is their right. Theroux says the
CHRC receives calls from managers who don’t know what to do when they have
chemically sensitive employees. “The mere fact that this report is out there is a huge
step in educating people and preventing hture complaints,” Theroux comments. “If
the issue is taken seriously, then proper solutions can be found before people have to
make a complaint to the Commission.”

The report recognizes both chemical sensitivity and the even less understood
phenomena of electrical sensitivity. In the age of cell phone towers, wireless Internet
zones and other technological changes that increase exposure to electric fields,
recognition of electrical sensitivity is an important reflection of a growing problem.
The h l l report is available at
http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/research program recherche/esensitivities hyersensibilitee

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